psychology

The Creation of a Whole Self: The Art of Being & Becoming by Sam Abelow

My work is an attempt to bring into focus the implicit search for meaning which was acted out throughout the history of art & design, mythic imagination & psychological theory, as well as religious practices. The resulting ORIGINS and SHEMA color systems are not only useful for aesthetics — great mysteries of alchemy, religion and developments in psychology are made plain to talk about. The words used to describe and explain the chart can be understood and used easily by artists, interior designers and fashionistas.

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Mapping ORIGINS: The Art of Integration by Sam Abelow

Artists seek resolution of inner and outer tensions, personally, in relationships and between cultural groups. This is a call to rise above flagrant moral negligence on the part of the academy, curators and artists themselves, to recognize that what we do has consequences, on a personal, national and global stage. In order to grow together:

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Mapping ORIGINS: Conflicted Artists Position by Sam Abelow

The contemporary artist is tasked with reintegrating the multitude of past art movements, resolving disassociated conflicts, into a greater whole. A multicultural, multifaceted — that is, a comprehensive approach — is thus the progression beyond arbitrary obsessions & expressions of dualism, towards a greater union of self — intrapsychic, interpersonal and transpersonal.

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The Lover Archetype in Modern Men: Soundcloud Rappers, XXXTentacion as Dionysus by Sam Abelow

Both Orpheus and Dionysus are archetypes commonly active in the personalities of contemporary artists. An artist with an undeveloped “Orphic” disposition will tend more towards a longing, romanticization and dramatization —  a poetic, almost mystical love. The artist tinged more with an immature “Dionysian” typology will be affected by extreme emotionality and even reckless, violent behavior. These typical scenarios are caused by living out a collective pattern — an archetype — which has an impersonal disregard the individual wellbeing.

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Sam Harris and David Benatar Debate Anti-Natalism: Breaking Through the Philosophical Quibble by Sam Abelow

David Benatar is a philosopher and writer who insists that a universe without human beings is better off than one with them. He believes, that because sentient beings can suffer, in varying degrees, it is better that they never lived. Additionally, once living, suicide is, in the majoirty of cases, a moral wrongdoing.This school of thought is known as “Anti-Natalism.” 

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New Age Ridiculousness at Columbia University Program by Sam Abelow

Among his seemingly random meanderings throughout the class, events that took place included, a girl crying to the class for 20 minutes about the very personal death of her grandfather, a loose discussion on the concept of time and how we don’t live in the moment, several aggressive table pounds by the professor, and a couple of phrases that made shallow sense, like “life doesn’t go fast, we go fast”.

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Paul Gauguin: Desire and Immortality by Sam Abelow

Paul Gauguin, a painter of the 1890’s, achieved an immortality through his art. Much of his drive to create was a compulsion in which he sacrificed his well-being to achieve. Yet, the contents of his imagination and intellect live on in the cultural canon of Western art, and his aesthetics propagated a new vision of art, influencing the likes of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. The psychological power behind such a drive will be explored in this essay, along with much more.

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Easter: Osiris, Christ and Myths of Transformation by Sam Abelow

The instinct that we must “sacrifice” to have the renewal is a fundamental representation of experience, found in our instinctual psyche. Our ancestors experienced the outside world, and inner world as a continuum. This meant that psychological processes had to be practiced outwardly to encourage consciousness, or rather capability towards sustaining themselves

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The History of Alchemy: From Isaac Newton to Joe Rogan by Sam Abelow

In the ancient past — Egypt for example — there were a class of people who had profound knowledge. Their knowledge came from some much more distant past (before the ice age) and the difference between that knowledge and the type people seek today, is that the ancient knowledge was always infused with what one could call a “spiritual” perspective.

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